As a girl with skin that is acne-fied at its worst and greasy at its
best, finding foundation has never been my favorite chore. When I was
in High School my mom worked at a salon, so I always had quality
foundation to cover up my skin. When that salon went out of business, I
was devastated. “You mean I’ll have to buy makeup at *gasp* the
drugstore?”
And that’s what I did for the next 10 years. I tried every
foundation known to man. Every new kind that came out, I tried it. I’m
pretty sure I never bought the same one twice. Nothing worked. Nothing
covered. Or it covered too much. It was greasy. Or it was drying. It
caused me to break out. It gave me the dreaded orange line on my neck.
I NEVER found anything that worked.
UNTIL.
I was up late watching infomercials. Yes, infomercials. And I saw
one about makeup. Makeup that goes on like a powder, covers like AIR
and is healthy enough to sleep in. Did I just find the makeup that will
change my life and turn my skin into a baby’s bottom? (Uh, you know
what I mean.)
The brand? bareMinerals
by Bare Escentuals. It’s a makeup made from minerals. In layman’s
terms, they crush minerals up to a fine powder-like substance and you
buff it on your face. These minerals don’t cover your skin, sucking all
the life out of it. Somehow this makeup lets your skin breathe while
healing it.
So, I ordered it. I actually bought something off an infomercial! I
was very very excited and just knew this would be my ticket to
beautiful skin.
I got my first little package in the mail during the summer. It came
with 2 different colors (one lighter, one darker), some “blush” and a
finishing “powder”. Not to mention 2 brushes, a compact and an
instructional DVD which I watched about fourteen times.
This is a whole new way to apply make up. There’s no yucky sludgy
liquid. There are no sponges or concealers. bareMinerals come in a loose
“powder” so their technique is to “swirl, tap & buff”. You grab
your brush, swirl it into the pot of mineral manna, tap it against the
edge (to take the excess off) and then buff it onto your skin.
The term “buff” is important. You’re not brushing powder onto your
face, or even trying to paint your face with makeup. You are buffing
minerals into your skin. You are buffing the bad stuff off and putting
some good stuff in.
And ever since my first swirl, tap and buff I was in love! With mineral makeup on, my skin is clearer, it’s smoother, it’s evenly toned, and I don’t feel makeup-y!
But what does it really do?!
Mineral makeup seems too good to be true. What does it actually DO
for your skin? Well, I emailed my all-natural-skin-care hero (she owns
an all natural skin care salon) and asked her to give me a little more info about mineral makeup. Here’s some highlights:
- A good mineral makeup will even out skin tone.
- It gives added sun protection.
- It contains added anti-oxidants that are good for the skin.
- Mineral makeup has a calming and soothing effect to the skin,
making it ideal for acne, sensitive skin, rosacea and other skin
disorders. - It is full of nourishing healthy skin formulations which are
derived from natural forming minerals and mineral pigments, including
zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and iron oxide to name a few. - Mineral makeup has natural anti-inflammatory properties that help heal, calm, and reduce redness in rosacea and acne prone skin types.
- They have anti-microbial capabilities that destroy and inhibit the growth of bacteria and microorganisms that can cause acne.
Are you even believing this? It is a miracle makeup!
What about other Mineral Makeups?
It seems like everyone is jumping on the mineral makeup bandwagon.
And for good reason! But not all mineral makeups are created equal. The
main thing you want is for it to be completely talc, filler and dye
free. These are the things that can cause skin allergies. Make sure
there are no FD&C or Lake chemical colors. Also make sure it DOES
dontain Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide…these are minerals that are
actual natural sunblocks.
To see if you are using a GOOD QUALITY mineral makeup, here’s a
trick my aforementioned hero told me about: Mix some of the mineral
makeup in a clear glass of water. Minerals are naturally hydrophobic,
so they “run away” from water by binding themselves together. “So
called” mineral makeup that has a lot of powder and/or talc will leave
the water cloudy looking while a true mineral makeup with stay mostly
together.
Mineral Makeup for the Newbie
Think in layers. Mineral makeup is not a mask. When you first put it
on, it takes a minute for your natural oils to settle and show up on
your skin. Once they do (5 minutes, maybe…long enough to put on your
eye makeup and spray your hair) and you want a little more coverage, do
another layer. You can do this as many times as you want and honestly,
you can look makeup-y if you want!
Make sure you invest in a good brush! If you buy bareMinerals, get
their intro kit. It comes with tons of great brushes. I love the kabuki
brush!
Another bareMinerals tip: get 2 colors! I always used the lighter
color as my first layer–to really cover my blemishes, dark circles,
etc. Then the darker color was my second layer.
Some people (my mom is one) complained that mineral makeup seems to
settle in their wrinkles…excuse me, fine lines around their eyes. This
may be…I wouldn’t know because I don’t have any wrinkles…kidding,
kidding…but I DO know you have to get used to the look, feel, and
application of mineral makeup. You’ll use less of it after a month of
application because you’ll understand how it works. Don’t give up on it!
My Suggestion
Run out RIGHT NOW and buy some! I know they are selling bareMinerals
at Target now. Hello! Like you needed another reason to go there!
If you don’t have a Target, Ulta or Sephora near you, get online and start buying. (bareMinerals is having a sweet deal right now!)
Mineral makeup wearers -– start commenting and let us know your
experiences! If you have any questions about mineral makeup, I’ll try
to answer them in the comments!
About Jo-Lynne
I just started wearing Bear Minerals and I love it. It is so light on my skin and at the end of the day I still have make up on. It took a little while to get used to because I was used to feeling the makeup on my face but now I love it!
I’ve been using tru minerals. (www.truminerals.com) and i love it!! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT (picture wheezy from dragon tales!)
it’s cheaper than bare minerals, but those that i know that have used both say that they like the tru minerals better.
i don’t like to be makeup-y… so this works GREAT!
I’ve been wanting to try this – it seems like it’d be awesome. Thanks for a GREAT review… I’m all over it! 😉
I have been using Bare Minerals for about a month. I wasn’t really sold on it for about a week but stuck with it. On the DVD they are just so obsessed with loading up the brush perfectly. Once I let go of that perfection, and ditched the Warmth, I really loved Bare Minerals. I still use my Neutrogena eyecream/concealer and blush, then use Mineral Veil as my last step.
Love, love, love Bare Minerals. The others just don’t fit the bill. You’ve got to go for the good stuff!
I have found, however, that during my pregnancies it seems way too powdery on my preggo skin. Once I deliver it is back to these basics once again! There’s nothing easier or more comfortable!
I couldn’t agree more! I have the same kind of skin and, like you, have tried everything on the market it seems. I watched the infomercial several times before finally caving and purchasing and boy am I glad I did!!! I’ll never go back to liquid anything!
I’ve also seen the intro kits at Costco!!
I have been using it for almost a year and love it! I ran out one time and bought some wanna be stuff at the drugstore and it WASN’T the same! I would say spend the money…it’s worth it!
Bare Minerals ROCKS!! It is the best on the market. They should give me free stuff because I’ve introduced it to all my friends and we are all true believers!
I’ve converted several women myself. If it weren’t for the Bisque I would have to relive all of my acne-filled teenage years over again every day!
I LOVE BE! I’ve been using mineral makeup since 2002 and will never, ever use liquid makeup again. I have been known to “dabble” with Everday Minerals- I like that you can order a sample kit to try colors and you only have to pay shipping. Their containers kind of stink though, so I dump their product into my empty BE jars. I think one of the best places to buy BE is on QVC.com. You can get kits or sets there that even the BE store doesn’t carry.
Amanda- it appears we share the same skin type (oh JOY! not) so I can really relate to pretty much your entire post. And I agree. :o) The one thing I tell everyone the first time they try BE is to buff, buff and when you think you are done, buff again. You can’t buff anything off and you only make it look better, imo.
Terri- I think Mineral Veil is a huge neccessity.. it kind of ‘sets’ your make up, if you will. I also use it to clean up any eye shadow that may have powdered places it shouldn’t have. Bisque works as a great concealer for me. I have DARK under eye circles and though it doesn’t completely erase them, it definitely covers anything else that may have appeared over night to plague me. lol Anyway, I use bisque, apply the ‘foundation’ then use a little more bisque under my eyes. That’s what works for me!
I’ve wondered about this for awhile but I am so pale. I worry that they don’t have a color that is light enough for my skin color. I don’t want my face to be a different color from the rest of me. Maybe I’ll give it a try.
I loved the way Bare Minerals looked but I found that I was allergic to two of it’s main ingredients – bismuth and mica….(which I’ve heard many people are). It caused itching and even peeled the skin off my eyelids (very unusual).
I now use everyday minerals and they work great. My suggestion is to use a GOOD mineral (not the cheapie kinds unless you have flawless/perfect skin) otherwise it will oxidize (and look icky after a few hours).
Yay! Glad to see there are so many mineral lovers out there!
d: That’s the great thing about mineral makeup–it’s not done by “colors” like so many other makeups. It’s just too natural to be pigmented, you know? You’ll definitely find a color that works with your skin.
Darla: Good suggestions! I HAVE heard (from my natural skin care hero) that MICA is one of those not so good ingredients. Of course, not all Mica is created equal–some companies refine it more, etc. So, yes, just skip past bareMinerals and find another top of the line mineral makeup. (Which by the way, is STILL reasonably priced in my opinion!)
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Arbonne has some too. I have acne prone skin as well and it has really really helped since I’ve been using it a few months. I will never, ever go back to the liquid foundation.
I love bareMinerals, too, but has anyone else noticed if you don’t clean the brushes (that came with the intro kit) very religiously, you can break out? I had heard that the brushes aren’t good quality so if I change them out, I will be good to go. It looks great on me until a few weeks in and then my whole face starts to break out. Then I wash the brushes and am fine.
I love bareMinerals! I have very pale, very dry skin, and it still works great for me! I do have to make sure my skin is thoroughly moisturized before application. And I use the lightest shade, I’m that fair. But I’ve found the colors are VERY forgiving. It’s not like you’re going to have that awful line at your jawline to blend in.
I bought my minerals from an Ebay store, so I never got that handy dandy DVD. This was very informative! I’d welcome another post about it. Like how does “bisque” work as concealer? How necessary is “Mineral Veil” and what are it’s affects?
This was wonderful! Thank you so much!
Mary Kay has mineral powder foundation! And MK is converting ALL of their eye, cheek, bronzers, highlighters, and pressed powders to mineral powder formulas!! I’m so excited about the new products!
I have found that will of all the mineral product line, a little goes a long way. The color is more concentrated so you apply less product.
I LOVE it but thought for a while that I was allergic to the bismuth because I started wanting to scratch my face off when I used it. But it turned out that I’m allergic to my kabuki brush 🙂
I’m a bare essentials girl and love it. I don’t wear make up regularly and I like that it doesn’t feel like I am covering my face in liquid. I agree with buying the starter kit because you get different colors and the brushes.
I agree with Marie about Mineral Veil (it’s almost the “loose powder” you’re used to). They even make great little compacts of it for you to carry around in your purse.
I’ve never used the bisque. I just use their concealer brush (it’s a small flat brush) and the lighter color to “conceal”.
However, if you don’t have 2 colors–don’t worry about it. Just buff a few more times over that area and it conceals great!
Katherine: I did notice that. Like you, I just washed them (with shampoo…they are hair-like!) Some of the higher end mineral makeups are anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-everything and I’ve noticed the brushes don’t get as dirty with them.
I don’t wear makeup much, I have never liked the way it makes my skin feel. When I do wear makeup, I wear the Bare Essentials “foundation” (as that is all I have right now. My MIL has used it for years. I think she bought if off QVC when it first came out. I love it, I don’t feel all gooped up and it doesn’t bother my skin at all. Even though I don’t wear makeup very often, I do wear Bare Minerals when I do wear makeup.
BARE MINERALS! Yes! I will never go back. Did NOT know they were carrying this at Target now. Luckily enough, I am headed there today. Thanks, Amanda!
I got some at Christmas. One thing that I’ve found is that I don’t use as much as I thought (or they think you will–as far as the auto shipment if you buy it online. I bought my first kit in the store after getting a makeover. Anyway, I’m still on my first set, almost 4 months later. I need to reorder, and that does look like a great deal online!!
I do agree with your mom, that it does seem to settle a bit around my eyes. Not that I have wrinkles either.
I know this is a great product, but a little pricey for me so I searched for something cheaper, but still high quality. I found Signature Minerals and they have a great sampling deal, so I tried it out and loved it. And I can still order cheap samples of new colors or products whenever I want. http://www.signatureminerals.com
I tried a similar mineral makeup company trial and I guess I couldn’t get the hang of it! Also, I have eye circles like a raccoon and couldn’t imagine how the powder covers that up. Anyone with tips or ideas?
HELP. Anybody wear contact lenses? Doesn’t the powder get in your eyes?
HELP. Mineral powder…or any loose powder bothers my contacts. I’ve used Lancome’s Dual Finish for decades because of this issue. I’d like to use mineral powder – any tips for a contact wearer?
I’m also sold on Bare Minerals. I think the Warmth is too orange, so I skip over that step. I also have Radiance and I’m not really sure what that’s supposed to do, so I skip that one, too. It took me a week or so to get used to the application, but now I find it quick and easy.
I tried the BM and like others, the bismuth made be break out. So I stopped using it, and tried it again when my skin got back to normal. Oh no, it happened again.
Now I use Pink Quartz Minerals and am very happy with it. It’s not shiny and I’m a bit older so don’t want shiny. The only thing they don’t have is mascara, so if anyone knows of a natural mascara let me know.
I love minerals! I have used bare minerals and then switched to Philosophy. I think the Philosophy coverage is longer lasting. Plus, the philosophy minerals come in a container and has a sponge to apply – so you just “swoop and swoop” on your face rather than use a brush to swirl and tap. I’m now trying Mary Kay’s minerals and they seem to be very similar to the Philosophy coverage. But, I’m taking those minerals and putting them into my Philosophy container because it saves so much time in the morning!
Hope that helps someone who is interested in trying a few good brands!